preston



UNITED PATET OFFICE n. A. PRESTON, or BATTLE CREEK, Miserie-.XN

METHOD OF MEASURIG AND RECORDING- BY THE TAPE.

Specification of Letters Patent No. 22,241, dated December?, 1858.

To all whom it may" concern:

Be it known that I, E. A. PRESTON, of Battle Creek, in the county ofCalhoun and State of Michigan, have invented a new and usefulSelf-Registering Tape-Measure;- and I do hereby declare that thefollowing is a full, clear, and exact description of the same, referencebeing had to the annexed drawings, in whichl Figure l, represents asectional plan view of my tape-measure; the plane of section beingindicated by the line zc, m, Fig. Fig. 2, is a transverse verticalsection of the same` Similar letters of reference indicate correspondingparts in both of the figures.

My invention consists in arranging the tape-measure on a barrelcontaining a spring for the purpose of drawing in the tape in suchrelation to a drum that the tape, while it unwinds from the barrel,passes over a certain portion of the surface of the drum and causes thesame to rotate; said drum being so arranged by means of a ratchet wheeland pawl that it is free to rotate in one direction, while the pawl andratchet wheel prevent its rotation in the other; so that by the saidrotation and a certain arrangement of gear wheels, the amount of tapedrawn out during a number of consecutive operations is registered byhands moving on a dial with the required marks and figures on the faceof the box containing this arrangement.

To enable others skilled in the art to fully understand and construct myarrangement, I will proceed to describe the same.

In a case A, made of sheet iron or other suitable material, and attachedto a horizontal partition B, by means of screws c, c', there is a plateC, to which another plate C1, is fastened by means of studs b, at such adistance that sufficient space is left between the two plates for theoperation of the barrel, drum, and gear Wheels. The barrel D is rigidlyattached to an arbor (l, which rotates between the plates C, C1; and a`flat spring c, is so arranged in the same that it is Wound up when thebarrel is rotated in the direction of arrow l. The inner end of thespring is fastened to the arbor CZ, while the outer end is attached to astationary pin d1. The drum E fits loosely on an arbor c, and it isprovided with a ratchet wheel F, and a pawl f, which is attached to anarm f', which is secured to the arbor c; and a spring f, keeps the pointof the pawl in contact with the tee-th of the ratchet wheel. These teethpoint in such a direction that the drum E rotates freely in thedirection of arrow 2, while it is prevented from rotatino in theopposite direction by the action of the pa'wl j", against the teeth ofthe ratchet wheel. The position of the drum E, in relation to the barrelD, is such that the tape, as it unwinds fromY the barrel, passes over acertain portion of the surface of the drum, as clearly shown in Fig. l,so that when the tape is drawn out, the drum is caused to rotate by thefriction of the same on its surface in the direction of arrow 2.

A pinion G, is attached to the arbor c, and this pinion gears into acog-Wheel G', which rotates on an arbor h, to Which another pinion I-Iis attached, gearing into a cog wheel H, which is situated in the centerof the case A, and which is attached to an arbor z', Which extendsbeyond the plate C, and the partition B, so that sufficient room is leftto attach a hand z", to its upper end. This hand moves on a dial, whichis fastened to the partition B, and which is provided with the necessarymarks and figures. The pinions G, and I-I, and the Wheels G, and I-I,are so proportioned, that thehand z, has sutlicient movement to indicateclearly every inch of tape drawn out.

On the arbor z', a pinion I, is fastened, which gears into acog WheelI', which rotates on an arbor y', to Which another wheel J is attached,which gears into a cog wheel K, on an arbor 7c. This last arbor alsoextends beyond the plate C, and the partition B, and a hand c, isattached to its upper extremity, which hand moves over a separateindication; and the pinions I and J, and the Wheels I, and K, are insuch proportion to each other, that the hand lo', registers the hundredsas the other hand t', registers the units and the indication over whichthe hand 7c', moves, is marked accordingly.

The tape extends to the out-side of the case A, through an opening Z,which is strengthened by a plate L, which is attached to the outside ofthe case. One end Z, of the plate L, is straight and sharp-cornered, sothat if applied to a board, itoffers sutlicient resistance to preventthe case from slipping when the tape is drawn out. To prevent the tapefrom being` injured by rubbing against the corners of the opening Z, afriction roller m, is arranged at the inside of the same, which rollerrotates on an arbor n, which has its bearings in a forked piece M, whichis fastened to the inside of the case A. The end of the tape is fastenedto a ring LI, which at the same time prevents the same from being drawnin altogether by the action of the spring c.

The operation of the instrument is as follows: The plate L is applied tothe edge of vthe board that is to be measured, with its sharp edge l',and the tape is stretched eX- actly across the board. In thus drawingout the tape, motion is given to the drum E, in the direction of arrowl; and this motion is communicated by means of the pinions and wheels tothe hands i', and k, in proportion to the length of tape drawn out. Whenthe tape is drawn out, the spring c, in the barrel D, is wound up, sothat the tape is drawn back into the case by relaxing the hand; and inits backward movement the drum E, rotates in the direction of the arrow2, and the rest of the machinery remains stationary.

I-Iaving thus described my improvement, what I claim as new and desireto secure by Letters Patent is The within-described arrangement of a

